Dragonball Z: Scythe's Story
by Hired Killer
Summary: Aera loves Piccolo. Piccolo leaves her to marry a farmer. Aera has Piccolo's baby and raises it as a normal child. (Flames, Reviews, Advice Needed!)
1. Introduction

Author's Note: I've been having this story in my head for four years now. It's a pretty long story, but I'm not sure if I'll write it. So, please tell me what you think (Praise and flame are both welcome as well as advice.). I'm writing the Introduction and Chapter 1, and I'll decide from your comments on whether I should continue or not. ^-~  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from DBZ ... yadda yadda yadda... only the ones I created... blah blah blah... don't sue! ^-^;;;  
  
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^  
  
Introduction: Aera  
  
v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v  
  
Birds sing sweet ballads to each other, announcing spring's early arrival at last. Their songs float through the clear afternoon sky riding the breeze and dancing off the array of pastel flowers covering a hill. It had only been two days since the last of the snow melted, and already the forest was spotted with delicate pale flowers. Even the sea seemed to enjoy nature's immense beauty by only making calm waves brush against the yellow shore.  
  
Near the shore there sat a small cream-colored cottage which displayed numerous brightly colored blossoms of different shapes and sizes. Walking around the plants and the house was a young woman in her early twenties who had an attractive energy around her. She began to twirl and close her hazel eyes feeling the warm breeze wrap around her like a blanket. She loved the spring, not just because she met her true love last year around this time, but because spring brought new life and new beginnings. Everything always seemed revitalized which had the young woman hoping for a better future and life. She never really liked being on the farm. Her real dream at first was to move to the city and become an actress or at least a weather girl, but this changed after last spring. Her lover inspired her to want something she had never dreamt she would ever want. She wanted to have a family with him on a farm, but she especially wanted a little girl. She even had a name for her with help from her sweetheart.  
  
"Aera," called a female voice from the cottage, "What are you doing?"  
  
"Just dreaming, mother," replied the young woman with a content smile.  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"Of..." Aera looked up into the clear blue sky closing her eyes as she indulged the warmth from the air, "Of flying and soaring with the birds high into the sky and touching the sun and--"  
  
"Oh my!" chuckled a gray-haired woman who peeked her head out a window to watch her spirited daughter. "You have such an imagination, my dear sakura."  
  
"Mother," frowned Aera at the pet name, "I'm getting too old for that nickname. I'm 21 years old and you still call me your 'dear sakura!'"  
  
The woman again laughed, "Okay, I will try and stop, but it's an old habit. Ever since you were baby and you would curl up in my arms looking like a small petal from a cherry blossom tree, I've called you that. Not because I want to embarass you, but because I love you."  
  
"I know," replied a guilty Aera who knelt near the water inspecting her pale pink hair that matched the color of her lips. "Gomen nasai. But, I just want to be treated as an adult and to be able to make my own decisions!"  
  
"Ahmm," nodded her mother as she was reminded of why she needed to talk with her daughter, "I have to speak with you, my de-- Aera."  
  
The pink-haired beauty stared questioningly at her mother who turned away from the window with shame, "What is wrong, mother?"  
  
The older woman's gray-covered head lowered, "You know how your father is about having you married by the time you're 21, ne?"  
  
"Ne, I know..."  
  
"Well because you haven't found a husband, he has chosen one for you..."  
  
A look of complete shock and confusion overcame the young woman face, "Nani? You-- can't-- No! Tell me you're joking! Please."  
  
The mother closed her sad eyes, "He has chosen the farmer Kataite, son of the Kakusuke family. You will be married tomorrow afternoon. I have already packed your bags. Gomen nasai. I tr--"  
  
"No! I can't believe you both decided MY future. I'll never marry him. Never!"  
  
With that Aera ran off into the forest determined to find the one she truly loved and tell him about her fate.  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Exhausted, Aera collapsed onto a familiar patch of flower-filled grass next to a cherry blossom tree. She remembered the last time she had sprinted into the forset crying. It was last year when her grandpa had died. Her grandadpa was her best friend, actually her only friend. He had had a heart attack while gardening and died there in the field. She remembered hearing the news and feeling her heart break as she ran through these same trees sobbing to kami. She then tripped on the root of this very same tree whose petals matched her hair, and there she laid mourning for her grandpa to come back. She would have continued to shed useless tears, if she had not felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder and was at first blinded by the sun, then in awe at a handsome green man in a turban standing above her.  
  
Aera smiled remembering the first time she met him as she sat up leaning against the tree. She closed her hazel eyes feeling the warm breeze once again. It was almost as if he were sitting right next to her... Her eyes opened slowly as she turned her face to her right,  
  
"Piccolo..."  
  
A green man was seated cross-legged next to her with a faint smile. He was a little amused at how the frail human was getting better at feeling his presence, "You're improving, Aera."  
  
The young woman hugged Piccolo tightly with teary eyes, "Oh, Piccolo..."  
  
"What's the matter?" asked Piccolo caught off guard as he held her close to him.  
  
"I..." she said between cries, "I have to get married, tomorrow. And I don't want to, because I love you!"  
  
Piccolo held her tighter for a few minutes before Aera gazed up at him and asked, "Don't you love me, too...?"  
  
"Of course. I love no other but you."  
  
"Do you really mean that?"  
  
"You know I do."  
  
"Good," sniffled the young woman, "then I can run away with you. We could elope."  
  
Piccolo paused not expecting her response. He then cleared his muscular throat, "I think you should marry the man they chose... It'd be better for you, and I'm sure your crush on me will fade."  
  
"Piccolo... What are you saying?! I love you. You're the only one I will ever love."  
  
"I love you, too. Kami, I love her!" announced the Namek as he kissed the young woman's pink hair. "But, it would never work... Just go back home, Aera. Your parents are probably worried."  
  
Aera's big chestnut eyes became a mess of heartbroken tears, as she grasped the now standing Piccolo's shoes, "No, Piccolo. Don't do this, don't push me away!"  
  
Piccolo easily shook his foot free from the desperate reach of Aera. She laid on her side hugging herself as she cried hysterically, as Piccolo floated into the sky.  
  
"Piccolo!" called the crying young woman. "Piccolo..."  
  
Aera sobbed into the grass littered with pink petals from the tree. She stayed against the grass so hard, that her tan apron began to be streaked with grass stains. She stayed weeping for what seemed like hours until a familar green hand rested itself on her shoulder turning her over onto her back, "Piccolo--"  
  
Piccolo's index finger landed softly on her lips quieting her as he began to kiss her now blushing cheek, "I love you."  
  
Aera began to plant slow little kisses on the Namek's face as she took off his turban, "I love you too, Piccolo..."  
  
Piccolo flashed her a mischevious smile as he untied her apron, "I'll prove to you, that I will only love you no matter what..."  
  
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-  
  
Aera entered her cottage just as the sun began to set. She danced through the door glowing as she silently closed her front door. She then tried to sneak past the living room when a gruff voice called her name. She drooped her head down and trudged into the living room to face her father who was watching a baseball game on the televison. He waited for a commercial break before speaking again.  
  
"Aera," he narrowed his eyes inspecting her wrinkled dirty clothes assuming she had been rolling on a hill again, "you know the agreement we had about your marriage, ne?"  
  
Her father watched under his gray beard as she nodded quietly before he responded again, "Then you know that your time has expired, so I have chosen the Kakusuke boy for you to be married to."  
  
"I also know that he's 38 years old! He's not a boy! He's an old man... I'm not marrying him, father! I will not d--"  
  
Firmly, her father slapped her insolent face leaving a throbbing dark bruise, "You WILL marry Kataite and that is FINAL! Do I make myself clear?"  
  
Aera again nodded as she held her hurt cheek and ran upstairs to her room, as a green figure drifted from the cottage window unnoticed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Comments: Well that was my attempt at the Introduction. Now, I gotta work on Chapter 1. 


	2. Chapter 1: Enter Scythe

Author's Note: Please review so I can decide on whether to continue writing or to stop while I'm ahead. Also, this chapter (Chapter 1) has a lot of flashbacks in it. So, don't get confused. o.o;  
  
Disclaimer: DBZ character = Not mine! My characters = Mine! Wow! That was simple!  
  
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^  
  
Chapter 1: Enter Scythe  
  
v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v  
  
"Push!" demanded a female voice holding a bucket of hot water and a moist towel in a dimly-lit cottage.  
  
"I'm pushing, I'm pushing!" cried the hoarse voice of a pink-haired lady on a bed in a small room.  
  
"Aera, dear," spoke the voice of Aera's mother, "you must relax and push."  
  
"How can I relax?!" snapped a struggling Aera as she breathed harder.  
  
Aera had not planned on being in labor, let alone being pregnant. She hated the wedding. She even hated her country bumpkin husband, even though he really did love her. But how could she give this man a chance when her heart belonged to another...  
  
~:~:~:~:~:~  
  
"Ahem?" grunted a reverend wearing a long white robe with a small black book in his hands.  
  
A husky man with a thin brown mustache which matched his slicked-back hair nudged the stunning young woman wearing a long white satin dress. The nudge seemed to have knocked her back into reality with shock, "Uh, nani?"  
  
"Aera Iruka Mikan, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband..." the reverend trailed off again as he noticed the young woman again was daydeaming.  
  
Aera's attention was focused on a family of robins that flew from their nest into the cloudless sky. She wished she could run away from this wedding. She glanced at her husband-to-be with disdain as the sun reflected itself in his glasses. He knew she really wanted an outdoor wedding, but if only he had left himself out of the equation. Her mind wondered as she spied her mother dabbing a handkerchief to her proud tears. Aera had dreamt of this day for so long, but it was just not what she thought it would be. She could not get married to Kataite. She wanted to marry Piccolo, and no other.  
  
"Well?" insisted the reverend with no more patience.  
  
Again, Aera was brought back to reality. She looked to her parents for a sign for her not to go through with this "fake" wedding, but was only met with the harsh frown of her father. She turned back to the reverend and his commanding voice, as she shed a tear, "I do..."  
  
With a sigh of relief the reverend proceeded with the wedding. The young woman's head dropped as she heard her groom say a dreaded "I do."  
  
"You may kiss the bride."  
  
Kataite threw off his top hat as he unveiled and kissed his depressed bride with much joy. The audience behind the two cheered and cried with happiness as they showered them with rice...  
  
~:~:~:~:~:~  
  
"You're doing very good, Kakusuke-san," encouraged the woman holding a moist towel at Aera's feet. "I can see it!"  
  
"Don't call me that!" yelled the sweating Aera between her pain. "My name is Aera!"  
  
"Aera, dear," shushed her mother, "calm down. It is almost over."  
  
"I'm gonna need you to give me one big push, Aera," informed the mid-wife. "Can you do that for me?"  
  
Clenching her bed tightly, Aera nodded her messy pink hair as she grit her teeth pushing with all her strength. Her body tensed until a loud cry was heard. She plopped onto her pillow weakly, as she closed her eyes.  
  
"Oh my kami! What is this!?" exclaimed the mid-wife with confusion.  
  
"What now?" asked Aera who immediately opened her eyes as the mid-wife laid a bundle of towels in her arms. She peeked through the towels and was greeted with a small pink baby with a head full of thin curly green hair. She peered at her mother who was discussing the issue of the baby having green hair.  
  
"No one in this family has green hair..." The old woman pondered to the mid-wife, "Maybe the Kakusuke have... No, they all have that straw-like brown hair!"  
  
"I don't know what to tell you Mikan-san," replied the just as confused mid-wife.  
  
Suddenly, a head covered by a straw hat peeked thorugh the door, "Can I come in now?"  
  
"Of course, Kataite," nodded Aera's mother to her son-in-law.  
  
Taking off his straw hat, the man crept closer to Aera who held a wiggling white bundle of towels. He inspected the baby with a puzzled look, "What is it?"  
  
"It's a girl," stated the weak Aera who could barely take her eyes off of her beautiful creation.  
  
"Oh," responsed Kataite scratching his head, "I was expecting a boy, so that he could help me in the fields... But a girl will do."  
  
Aera scowled at the back of the man's overalls as he exited hurriedly the room. She looked to her mother and the mid-wife who just shrugged before leaving the room as well...  
  
~:~:~:~:~:~  
  
"Aera?" asked the soft voice of a Namek laying on his back next to a hazel-eyed girl.  
  
"Yes, Piccolo?" responsed Aera who was mesmerized my the cherry blossoms in the tree above them.  
  
"I just want you to know that..." blushed Piccolo as he scratched him bald green head nervously.  
  
"I'm listening..."  
  
"I... uh-- I love you."  
  
Aera had not expected this from the Namek. She knew they were friends and all, but she did not expect this from the mostly cold man. She was speechless as she faced his stern blushing face that stayed fixated on the tree above. She examined his body and its muscules clearly seen through his purple clothes. She had known him for three months now, and she had developed an attraction to him. But, could this be love? She closed her eyes and tried to imagine a day without seeing the Namek. She was surprised when each time she thought about it the image of Piccolo emerged into her mind. As embarrassing as it was to her, she was in love with this man. She began blushing bright pink, causing the Namek to notice and chuckle. Angered, the girl pouted, "It's not funny, Piccolo!"  
  
"You're so afraid to show any emotion," smirked Piccolo as he sat up handing the girl a necklace with a charm of a cherry blossom tree.  
  
Aera accepted the gift that smelled like the picture it showed, "Oh, Piccolo, it's so beautiful..." She pulled the necklace over head and hugged the Namek.  
  
To her surprise, Piccolo did not evade her hug, but instead kissed her softly on the lips, "I love you so much, Aera..."  
  
~:~:~:~:~:~  
  
"Aera, dear," called her mother from outside the bedroom, "what is her name?"  
  
Aera had completely forgotten about that. An array of names came to mind as she thought of her tragic fate with Kataite the farmer. She thought of the plowing, the planting, the harvesting. She thought of her baby girl being subjected to the intense sun and the cold night. She closed her eyes and imagined a young woman with a load of straws on her back. The young woman's green hair was so dirty from work she had to do. The sweating woman held a long stick with a crescent-shaped blade for cutting grass. The sun shined on the tool that she had come to know so well as she continued her endless work in the fields.  
  
"A scythe..." whispered Aera as she opened her tear-filled eyes to look at the now sleeping child. "Gomen nasai, little one. I never wanted you to have this life..."  
  
~:~:~:~:~:~  
  
"Hey, Piccolo?" said the pink-haired girl as she brushes a cherry blossom branch on the face of the resting Namek.  
  
"What do you want?" answered the playfully grouchy Piccolo.  
  
"You didn't answer my question!" frowned Aera.  
  
"What was it again?"  
  
"Argh! You always go to sleep and forget!" exclaimed the young lady as she hit the man with the branch repeatedly.  
  
"I'm just kidding," smiled Piccolo as he took the branch and tossed it. "I remember you ask, 'If we had a child, what would you name it?' Am I right?"  
  
Aera narrowed her eyes and mumbled, "Yeah..."  
  
"Well, I'd name him Piccolo Jr. After me, of course."  
  
"Of course," smirked Aera as she rolled her eyes.  
  
"And if we had twins, then I'd name one Piccolo Junior and the other Daimou."  
  
Aera raised and eyebrow, "Now tell me, what if it happens to be a girl?"  
  
"Hmm..." replied Piccolo wondering. "I didn't think of that. But in the unlikiness of that happening... I'd name her Flute. And the other would be named Piccolo Juniorette."  
  
Aera laughed, "Okay, Mr. Modesty."  
  
~:~:~:~:~:~  
  
"Aera?" asked her mother yet again. "What is the child's name?"  
  
Aera held the cherry blossom necklace's charm in her hands tightly before kissing it, "Her name is Scythe. Scythe Flute."  
  
"Uh... okay. It's a very interesting name. I don't know why she can't be called Oogama..." muttered her mother as she trailed off in a rant about people and watching too much American shows.  
  
Aera smiled contently at her baby and then glanced out her window sensing a familiar presence, "Piccolo...?"  
  
A shadowed figure was seen standing outside the window silently, as Aera placed the bundle of towels in the waiting green hands. The figure quietly admired the baby who opened its lime-green eyes up to her father, "Flute..."  
  
Aera gave a shy nod as the moonlight hit his proud green face. Piccolo kissed the baby on the forehead and placed it back in its mother's arms. Aera watched entranced as the Namek walked away from the window into the night. He had not said but one word. But she knew he loved her, and she him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Comments: I know it's a lil long, but it had to be. I hope the flashbacks didn't confused anyone. I tried making it easy to follow... So, this is the moment of truth. -.-; You can praise, flame, or give advise. You can even do all three! I gotta know if I should finish this or not... So all is welcome... ::gulp:: .;;; 


End file.
